Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #8

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES No. 8
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally published on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert @xaimeh
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds – @earinc
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-865-6; paperback (January 2016)
100pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

A new volume of Love and Rockets: New Stories arrived in book shops and select comic book stores just about two months ago.  Created by brothers, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (a.k.a. Los Bros.), Love and Rockets began as a self-published zine before becoming a magazine-sized comic book.  Now, Love and Rockets is an annual publication in a format that resembles a blend of the literary journal, the European graphic album, and the comic book trade paperback

Love and Rockets: New Stories #8 sports a striking cover illustration drawn by Gilbert.  The cover features the predominant subject matter of Gilbert's contributions to New Stories #8, the numerous crazy women who want to look like busty Fritz, the sister of Gilbert's signature character, Luba.

First, Gilbert concludes his movie-within-a comic, “The Magic Voyage of Aladdin.”  This B-movie trash/fantasia pits Morgan Le Fey (as played by Fritz) and Aladdin against two evil (b)witches, Circe and Jasmin, who are trying to obtain Aladdin's magic lamp.  The role of Circe is played by Mila, a young woman who does indeed resemble Fritz.  Mila becomes Fritz, Jr. and begins to believe that Fritz is trying to sabotage her.  To complicate matters, another ambitious (or crazy) young woman becomes Baby Fritz.  Thus begins a struggle for identity and control that includes fetish and porn film directors, drugs, snitching, a man with two cocks, and more Fritz imitators.

In New Stories #7, Jaime began his latest “Locas” epic by taking his signature characters, Maggie and Hopey, life-long friends and former lovers, on a road trip to Huerta for a “punk rock reunion.”  In this volume, the second chapter, “I Guess I Forgot to Stand Pigeon-Toed,” finds Maggie meeting longtime pal, Daffy, for the actual concert.  Old friends and old enemies make appearances; new disaffected youth slash young punks take in show.  But will Hopey actually show up?

“Locas” isn't the only Jaime in New Stories #8.  He gives us two more chapters of “Princess Animus,” a comix serial that recalls Los Bros.' classic sci-fi/monster, B.E.M. comics of the early days of Love and Rockets.  Also, Tonta Agajanian returns – in time to move in with her new guardian.  Plus, Jaime takes us to “Isla Guerra,” for a strange tale of nautical tragedy.

Normally, I find the “Fritz-capades” of Gilbert's New Stories shocking, but his contributions to this edition of L&R seem tame to me post-Blubber #1.  Yeah, last year, I read the first issue of Gilbert's new solo comic book series, Blubber, and it was one of the best comic books that I have read over the last few years.  It is not as if this latest Fritz epic is of poor quality.  Quite the contrary, this tale of people who obsess instead of love deftly defines fandom as something akin to possession.  Here, fetish is an appetite for destruction, both of self and others.

I know this sounds crazy, but it seems as if Gilbert plays it safe here in New Stories.  Meanwhile, in Blubber, he has unleashed his imagination.  As he unleashes his imagination in Blubber, he is evolving as a comics creator.  He is like the late French comics master, Moebius, tackling the philosophical, the religious, the spiritual, the profane, and the absurd.  New Stories is Gilbert merely tracking through the work that made his famous.

On the other hand, Jaime is finding fresh, fertile soil in all his old landscapes.  One might argue that Locas has had some unpretty arcs (as some have indeed argued).  However, Maggie and Hopey and everyone that has been part of their world:  directly, indirectly, and sometimes both have moved forward and even evolved over time.  In ways subtle and obvious, Jaime's pen shows that the characters have aged, but most shockingly, that they are aging.

Before he expired and accepted his promised dukedom in Perdition, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that the U.S. Constitution was not a living document, but that it was dead.  So many long comic books are at least dead-like; the intellectual property owners just keep changing the mummified corpse's rags.  However, Jaime's Love and Rockets comics comprise a living document, changing with the times and not trying to hold back the years.  Thank you, sir.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------

Review: THE STORY OF MY TITS

THE STORY OF MY TITS
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Jennifer Hayden
EDITORS: Chris Staros and Leigh Walton
ISBN: 978-1-60309-054-4; softcover with French flaps (September 2015)
352pp, B&W, $29.95 U.S.

Mature readers (16+)

The Story of My Tits is a 2015 black and white, original graphic novel from Jennifer Hayden, an author, children's book illustrator, and comix creator.  Published by Top Shelf Productions, The Story of My Tits chronicles Hayden's life from her years as a girl with a flat chest to her battle with breast cancer in her forties.

Born in the early 1960s, Jennifer is an ordinary girl, but over time, she comes to discover that unlike other ordinary girls, her breasts are taking their own sweet time to develop.  Eventually, Jennifer's tits do appear as she discovers boys, sex, and break-ups with boys.

However, the innocence of youth quickly gives way to the chaos of adulthood.  There is college, a long-term relationship with Jim, the young man who later becomes her husband.  There is her mother's brush with breast cancer that eventually leads to a mastectomy, and while her mother suffers a health crisis, her father has a mistress.  Jennifer experiences the ups-and-downs of two families after she marries Jim, but the biggest downer is her own diagnosis of breast cancer.  It comes during the summer of 2004 when she is 43.  It is then that Jennifer has to chart her own difficult course of surgery, recovery, and renewal.

Any description of The Story of My Tits cannot come close to truly describing this monster of a comic book.  I understand why it would be sold as a graphic novel about cancer, because breast cancer is a dark shadow that looms over this story.  It is hard to find people who have not had a brush with cancer in their lives.

My paternal grandfather died of it.  In 2014, a friend who was long misdiagnosed died of pancreatic cancer.  I took my mother to a doctor's appointment a few years ago, not knowing that a biopsy was planned.  When I was told that the doctor was concerned about the possibility of breast cancer, I finally understood what people mean when they say that they feel as if the walls are closing in on them.  It was as if I were in a large room that instantly shrunk to closet-size around me.

The Story of My Tits is a story about life, love, and loss.  It is an epic biography about family and friends, about having jobs and having a career, about saying goodbye to cherished loved ones almost at the same time welcoming new life into the world.  Because Jennifer tells us so much about her life, we buy into her story.  And when we buy into the story, we buy the cancer, too.  Jennifer's confusion about her health and her fear of death become a real thing with which we the readers must grapple.

The Story of My Tits is triumphant and heartbreaking.  It is glorious in its joy and candid in its sadness.  Most of all, it is a fantastic read.  I did not know that tits could be so alluring and attractive, and it would have nothing to do with sex.  Seriously, Jennifer Hayden has offered a story for our times that is timeless in its breath and scope.

A+

www.jenniferhayden.com
goddesscomix.blogspot.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: FLESH OF WHITE #1

FLESH OF WHITE No. 1
INVERSE PRESS

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

WRITER: Erica J. Heflin
ARTIST: Amanda Rachels
24pp, Color, $3.99 (February 2013)

Flesh of White is a comic book series created by writer Erica J. Heflin (Zenescope Entertainment's Wonderland and Grayhaven Comics’ The Gathering) and drawn by artist Amanda Rachels (Arcana Studios’ The Book).  The series is set in the the African nation of Tanzania.

Flesh of White #1 introduces a young Tanzanian couple who lives in the village of Wasando.  Idi is a conscientious father and farmer, and Rehema is a wife and doting mother.  They recently celebrated the birth of a son, Kwasi, but his birth has brought unanticipated fears.  Kwasi was born with albinism, which is problematic, as he and his parents live in a part of Tanzania where fear guides the actions of men and superstition directs their lives.  A scheming Witch Doctor desires little Kwasi's flesh, and he has sent The Harvester to obtain it.

Writer Erica J. Heflin offers a most intriguing concept in Flesh of White, and the setting, rural Tanzania, is filled with a sense of mystery and wonder.   Artist Amanda Rachels has a drawing style that seems more appropriate for children's comics instead of a comic book that features graphic depictions of brutal violence.  Yet Rachels' compositions strengthen the depictions of emotion, whether these emotions are happy and sad or are peaceful and violent, making the storytelling seem immediate and urgent.

Heflin and Rachels make a good team.  They come together and fashion Flesh of White into something that is intriguing and magical.  If DC Comics published comic books featuring genuine African characters, then, Flesh of White would be a Vertigo book.  Left to their own devices, however, Heflin and Rachels are free to create a comic book of magic, real and simulated, that is truly unique.

http://inversepress.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Comics Review: TIM GINGER

TIM GINGER
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Julian Hanshaw – @hanshawjulian
EDITORS: Chris Staros and Leigh Walton
ISBN: 978-1-60309-350-7; paperback (July 2015)
152pp, Color, $19.99 U.S.

Mature readers (16+)

Julian Hanshaw is an award-winning British cartoonist and comics creator.  Hanshaw makes his American debut with the original graphic novel, Tim Ginger, which is published by Top Shelf Productions.  Mixing color and black and white, Tim Ginger focuses on a widower who finds his quite life interrupted by two people, one of whom is an old friend.

Tim Ginger is a former government test pilot who is retired and is living in New Mexico.  Tim has been a widower since the death of his wife, Susan B. Ginger, a little more than two decades before this story opens (apparently 2015).  He lives a quiet retirement in an Airstream trailer situated in an RV park in New Mexico.

He and his late wife did not have children so he is mostly alone.  Then, two people enter his life.  The first person is Karl Pope, a conspiracy theorist who starts asking uncomfortable questions.  Tim may have the answers, so Pope will not stop asking questions – directly or indirectly.  The second person is an old and dear friend, Anna Maynard.  It is her return that causes Tim some discomfort, as he confronts when to let go and when to hold on.

When Pixar Animation's film, Up, was released, some people expressed surprise and amazement that the studio would make an animated feature about a very old man who is still grieving the loss of his wife and the lonely boy with whom he shares a grand adventure.  By the end of Up, which went on to win two Academy Awards, it is obvious that the movie was about love and renewal and not about age.

Tim Ginger is not a very old man; he is apparently in his mid-60s.  He is lonely and grieving, so he does not seem like a good character for a comic book.  Still, there are always comics creators who ignore preconceptions about what comic books should be, and some actually expand readers' expectations of the stories that comic books can tell.  Julian Hanshaw is one of them.

By the end of Tim Ginger, it is obvious that this story is about living instead of merely being alive, and that age is not the only determinate in living one's life, if it is a determinate at all.  While Hanshaw, on the surface, makes his graphic novel meditative, the story is alive.

Hanshaw takes Tim's internal monologue and interior life and pushes it forward as an active, living, breathing graphical narrative.  Tim Ginger's colors, which mimic the warm desert colors and its ethereal sunsets, makes the quiet life of Tim raucous with possibility.  That's why I found this comic book hard to resist.  It is like the alt-comics version of a thriller; I flipped through the pages, while often going back to re-read passages.

I think what most attracts me to Tim Ginger is that this story is so surprising.  Just glancing at this book, you would not think that Tim Ginger could turn out to be such a fantastic work.  I want to read it again.  Tim Ginger is a spectacular American debut for Julian Hanshaw, the calling card that will make readers anxious for his next work.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Comics Review: BLUBBER #1

BLUBBER #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review first appeared on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $3.99 U.S.

Gilbert Hernandez is the cartoonist, comic book creator, and graphic novelist best known for being one-half of the duo known as “Los Bros.” along with his brother, Jaime Hernandez.  Together, the two Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards) winners have produced the seminal, alternative comic book series, Love and Rockets, for more than 30 years.  As a “solo act,” Gilbert (a.k.a. “Beto”) has also produced numerous original graphic novels and several comic book miniseries for publishers Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Drawn & Quarterly, as well as for his original publisher Fantagraphics Books.

Fantagraphics recently published Blubber #1, what will hopefully be the start of a new series from Gilbert.  This black and white comic books contains a series of short stories and vignettes featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphs.  These types of surreal and strange characters and stories have been a hallmark of Gibert's comix going back to the beginning of his public work.

In “Eyes of the Mau Guag,” readers get a look at a docile, dog-like creature whose like is marked by masturbation and victimization.  Penetration and eye-ball trauma mark the existence of the furry-type “Doogs.”  Also, see a different kind of hangover in “Las Vegas Lace.”

On first glance, Blubber #1 looks ridiculous.  It is like flipping through a self-published vanity comic book full of weirdness.  Reading it, however, gives a far different impression and experience.  Not far into reading it for the first time, I found myself fascinated.  I had to re-read some segments of this comic book because I could not get enough of it.  Even 26 pages of what could be described as Beto's kooky version of the “Wild Kingdom” was not enough for me.

Blubber #1 recalls the ethereal and beautiful explorations contained in Moebius' Une jeunesse heureuse (released as a small leather-bound notebook).  It also has a passing resemblance to the surreal pantomime comix of Jason (who is also published by Fantagraphics in America).  The phallus... ahem... comes in many shapes and sizes, generally as a saggy meat hose or as a gradually swelling tuber.  It's penetrative explorations can be creative or pleasurable, but are consistently dangerous slash destructive.  I'll say no more because you, dear reader, should pay to discover this comic book's wonders.

I hope that more of Beto's id explodes onto enough pages for there to be a second issue of Blubber.  This crazy little comic book proves once again that not only is Gilbert Hernandez the best American comic book writer of the last four decades; he is also one of its essential visionaries.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #7

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES #7
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review first appeared on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez – @BetomessGilbert @xaimeh
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds – @earinc
COVER: Jaime Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-679-9; paperback (January 2015)
100pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

We last saw a new volume of the annual Love and Rockets: New Stories (#6) in the fall of 2013.  Since then, creators and brothers, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (a.k.a. Los Bros.), each finally won his first Eisner Award (Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards).

Love and Rockets: New Stories #7 was published in March, I think (although the publishing date inside the book is listed as January 2015).  The latest volume contains 14 stories, 6 six by Gilbert and 8 by Jaime.  Among Gilbert's (Beto) offerings is a story that runs slightly longer than a single-issue comic book.  Entitled “The Magic Voyage of Aladdin,” it pits Morgan Le Fey (as played by Fritz) and Aladdin against two evil bitches, Circe and Jasmin, who are trying to obtain Aladdin's magic lamp.  “Daughters and Mothers and Daughters” is a flashback story about Maria, the mother of Luba (one of Beto's central L&R characters).  “Killer in Palomar” finds Dora “Killer” Rivera in Palomar, and Fritz and Fritz-wannabes compete in a few shorter stories.

Jaime (Xaime) puts the focus squarely on his signature characters, Maggie and Hopey.  The life-long friends and former lovers take a road trip to Huerta for a “punk rock reunion.”  However, their proximity to each other reveals that their humdrum domestic lives have not quite tamed the passion nor has it severed the romantic connection between them.  Plus, the comic book-length “Princess Animus!” plays out the classic bad movie that Maggie and Hopey watch at the old “Vogue Theater” while in Huerta.  In  “if it ain't fixed, don't break it!”a tawdry true-crime television show brings up the nutty and perhaps murderous secrets of Tonta Agajanian's nutty family.

I am not one of those Love and Rockets admirers who have bought into the idea of high and low periods in the quality of Los Bros.' output.  For me, all their comics have been at least great comics or hugely intriguing, with the best of it being high-comics art.  Since I first discovered their work 30 years ago, I have been fascinated by everything that the brothers have done in L&R.

Still, even L&R fanboy that I have am, I must admit that Love and Rockets: New Stories has seen Los Bros. soar to new heights of comics art excellence, beginning with New Stories #3, in particular.  In New Stories #7, both brothers revisit old haunts and familiar characters.

“Daughters and Mothers and Daughters,” Gilbert uses Maria to reveal how the ugly secrets of the past continue to affect a family long past the origin of the secrets.  The fanciful derring-do of “The Magic Voyage of Aladdin” recalls Beto's wild and wholly early comics, with their mixture of B-movie plots, weird fiction, and lowbrow comic book sci-fi.  While Jaime has found fresh potting soil for his stories in Tonta, he has kept his eyes on the magnetic attraction between Maggie and Hopey.  Time is neutral, and the notion of “what is past” is an illusion, especially when it comes to these two classic comix characters.  Recalling the best of the brothers' BEM stories (big-eyed monsters), “Princess Animus!” is a joy to read at 18 pages, and I could have read another 18 pages of it.

So with the final panel of Fritz, we have to wait another year for “the most important and enduring alternative comics series in the history of the medium.”  Hopefully, some graphic novel collections (God and Science and The Love Bunglers) will hold me until then.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: INCREDIBLE CHANGE-BOTS Two Point Something Something

INCREDIBLE CHANGE-BOTS TWO POINT SOMETHING SOMETHING
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Jeffrey Brown
ISBN:  978-1-60309-348-4; paperback (November 2014)
224pp, Color and B&W, $19.95 U.S.

Jeffrey Brown is one of my favorite cartoonists.  As a reviewer, I have been fortunate to receive numerous books authored by Brown from his frequent publisher, Top Shelf Productions.  One of my favorite books by Jeffrey Brown is the recent Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something, of which Top Shelf provided me a copy.

First, about Jeffrey Brown:  I imagine that many comics readers probably know Brown from his Star Wars young readers book series, Darth Vader and Son and Jedi Academy.  Brown has also produced a number of beautifully executed autobiographical comics that have been collected under such titles as Clumsy, Little Things, and Undeleted Scenes, to name a few.

The best description that I can give of Jeffrey Brown is “joyous.”  I don't know if he suffers for his art, but when I read his comics, I think of someone joyfully going about his art and craft.  Brown's Incredible Change-Bots comics personify that sense of joy.  The Incredible Change-Bots are Brown's nostalgic tribute and love letter to and parody of the Transformers.

Thus, the Incredible Change-Bots story is similar to that of the Transformers.  It begins on the planet, Electronocybercircuitron, where two factions of giant transforming, shape-shifting, changing robots – the Incredible Change-Bots – wage war.  The ostensible protagonists are the Awesomebots, and the bad bots are the self-interested, Fantasticons.  The two groups go to war over a disputed election, and promptly destroy Electronocybercircuitron.

Top Shelf Productions published two paperback collections, Incredible Change-Bots (2007) and Incredible Change-Bots Two (2011), that collected Brown's Incredible Change-Bots comics.  However, over the past decade, Brown has produced a lot of Incredible Change-Bot miscellany, including newsletter art, exclusive mini-comics, and custom original art for the Incredible Change-Bots Fan Club.

That fan club material and more are collected in the 5” x 6.5,” color, trade paperback, Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something.  This book includes the first appearance of a Change-Bot (in Sulk Sketchbook #10).  There are also art show and commission drawings and Incredible Change-Bot art and comics produced for magazines and special edition comics books (like those produced for “Free Comic Book Day”).

I must hasten to add that Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something is not a collection of throw-away stuff and odds-and-ends.  These are fully functional short stories and vignettes, and I had a blast reading this.  I have read Incredible Change-Bot comics before, but these short pieces are the best of this series/franchise, thus far.  The material in this collection is a mixture of black and white comics and full-color comics, and the color comics are gorgeous; an Eisner Award nomination for the coloring would be deserved.

The production, binding, and paper quality on Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something is good enough to fool you into believing that this is one of those high-end archival projects.  I heartily recommend this book to Transformers fans, admirers of Jeffrey Brown's work, and readers looking for truly funny humor comics.

A

www.topshelfcomix.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: PUNKS: The Comic #2

PUNKS: THE COMIC #2
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

CREATORS:  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain – @JoshFialkov @KodyChamberlain
COVER: Kody Chamberlain
VARIANT COVER: Jeff Lemire
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2014)

Rated T+ / Teen Plus

I have added a new comic book to my must-read list.  It's Punks: The Comic, and the second issue recently arrived.  This new series is actually a revival of writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Ultimates) and artist Kody Chamberlain's (Sweets) 2007 small press comic book, Punks.  Chamberlain produces Punks' “original art” by cutting up various photographic images and compiling them to create the characters, settings, and storytelling.  Punks may be part of what Wired Magazine called “cut-and-past” culture.  Punks: The Comic stars the screwy quartet of  Dog, Skull, Fist, and Abe Lincoln.

As Punks: The Comic #2 opens, Skull and Abe witness the arrival of “Superdog,” who drops from the sky like a falling star.  This new-fangled canine looks almost identical to Dog.  Perhaps, he will be a better roommate than plain-ol' Dog; at least, Fist agrees.  When Superdog's true colors are revealed in a yellow stream, the out-with-the-old Dog will have to stop the in-with-the-new Superdog.

[Punks: The Comic #2 includes some story pages from the original Punks comix.]

The cut-and-paste, do-it-yourself aesthetic of Punks: The Comics seems a little strange at first, but this is a comic book that gets better with each issue.  “Irreverent” does not seem to be a strong enough word to describe the kind of humor produced by Fialkov and Chamberlain.  And “witty” sure as hell doesn't hack it.

For me, the animations that Terry Gilliam created for Monty Python's Flying Circus and Monty Python, in general, come to mind when I read this comic book.  Punks is pungent and potent like British satire and as beguiling as the best of it.  Indeed, it is as if Fialkov and Chamberlain have formed their own surreal comedy troupe.  Punks certainly seems like the beast that will devour the staid yuck-yuck pamphlets that pass for humor in American comic books.

Readers looking for something truly different and truly good in comic books will want Punks: The Comic.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: TUKI #1

TÜKI #1
CARTOON BOOKS – @cartoonbooksinc

CARTOONIST: Jeff Smith – @jeffsmithbone
COLORS: Tom Gaadt
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Tüki is the latest comics project from cartoonist Jeff Smith, the award-winning creator of the comic book series, Bone and Rasl.  Tüki began publication in late 2013 as a webcomic published on Smith's website, Boneville.com.  Tüki has already won a 2014 National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award in the category of “Online-Long Form,” for webcomics.  About four months ago, Cartoon Books began publishing Tüki as a full-color comic book.  According to information found in the comic book, Tüki is the story of the first human to leave Africa.

Tüki #1 introduces the title character, Tüki, a male character.  Tüki belongs to one of the early hominid species, Homo erectus, which were apparently the first humans to harness fire and to leave Africa.  Tüki takes place during an as yet indeterminate time, but it seems to be several millenia after the Ice Age changed the world 2,000,000 years ago.  During his search for food and water, Tüki encounters a strange old man who belongs to another early hominid species, Homo habilus.  The old man insists that he has an important message for Tüki, or, at least, he thinks it's important.

The art in Tüki #1 is printed in the landscape format, so reading it is like trying to read several pages of a wall calendar.  Normally, I would be annoyed by this, except that the art is so beautiful, not only because of Smith's compositions, but also because of Tom Gaadt's lush and shimmering coloring.  As a visual experience, this reminds me of Walt Disney's classic animated feature film, The Lion King.

The story is intriguing.  It takes place in a part of human history in which so little is known, and that gives Tüki #1 the feel of a mystery story.  Smith's art captures the naturalism of living hand-to-mouth and by one's wits and the skills learned and experience gained.  This matter-of-fact way of survival adds to the sense of the unknown or even the unknowable.

There is always a sense of mystery about Jeff Smith's comics, as if there is a great unknown hiding far back in each panel, too far to be seen by the reader.  So I need to read more before I can definitively or at least solidly grade this, but I can say at this point that it's quite good.  I'm intrigued, so I will give it a tentative grade.

A-

http://www.boneville.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: TONOHARU: Part One

TONOHARU: PART ONE
PLIANT PRESS/TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Lars Martinson – @larsmartinson
ISBN:  978-0-9801023-6-9; paperback (October 7, 2014)
128pp, 2-color, $14.95 U.S.

On and off since 2003, cartoonist Lars Martinson has been living and working in Japan.  Those experiences inspired his comic book project, Tonoharu.

Tonoharu: Part One is an original graphic novel written and drawn by Martinson and originally published in 2008 by Pliant Press (and distributed by Top Shelf Productions) as a hardcover book.  Although Tonoharu is a planned four-volume series, only Tonoharu: Part Two (2010) has been released since the first volume.  A softcover edition of Tonoharu: Part One was just recently published.

Tonoharu is the story of Daniel “Dan” Wells, a young American working in rural Japan.  The story focuses on Well's daily life and routine, which is largely dull and unimaginative, because Wells has not embraced his new home, nor has he even mastered the Japanese language.

A recent college graduate, Dan moves to rural Japan to work as an assistant English teacher.  There are other “foreigners” in the village of Tōnoharu, where Dan lives and works at the local school, but he has a difficult time connecting with them.  He eventually meets Constance, a young American woman he likes very much, but she teaches in another town and seems to already have a boyfriend.

The visual structure that Martinson creates merges style, rhythm, form, and design.  It is both visually appealing and revealing of plot, setting, and mood.  This allows Martinson to portray the story of Dan as one of a young man boxed in or perhaps boxing himself in after he moves to an alien environment.

Tonoharu is a tale of a stranger in a strange land, and Martinson lets the reader into that new world.  That is how we understand Dan’s dilemma.  He is lost and alone, imprisoned and isolated, mostly of his own doing.  Martinson presents a very open narrative which allows the reader to share Dan’s experience, which, in turn, allows me to interpret Dan's story in my own way.

Allowing the readers to grapple with Dan Wells on their own terms is what makes Tonoharu: Part One both interesting and appealing.  I hope this series continues.  This paperback release of Tonoharu: Part One includes an “Afterword,” written by Martinson in Spring 2014, in which he says that he is still a “couple of years” from finishing Tonoharu.

A-

larsmartinson.com
topshelfcomix.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: Charles Burns' SUGAR SKULL

SUGAR SKULL
PANTHEON BOOKS – @PantheonBooks @AAKnopf @doubledaypub

CARTOONIST: Charles Burns
ISBN: 978-0-307-90790-5; hardcover (September 16, 2014)
64pp, Color, $23.00 U.S.

Charles Burns is the American cartoonist and illustrator best known for his graphic novel, Black Hole, which was originally published as a comic book series, first by Kitchen Sink Press, and finally by Fantagraphics Books.  His comics short stories have been collected in such book collections as Big Baby and Skin Deep.

His most recent comics work is a graphic novel trilogy that began in X'ed Out and continued in The Hive and now, comes to an end in Sugar Skull.  The long strange trip of a guy named Doug comes to an end that is both mind-bending and heart-wrenching (or pathetic, depending on how you look at it).

In X’ed Out, Burns introduces Doug, a photographic artist who has a head injury of some kind.  One night, he awakens and sees his cat, Inky, who is supposed to be dead.  Doug follows Inky through a hole torn in a brick wall, where he discovers a place called The Hive.  This place is likely an alternate reality that has been induced by the trauma Doug experienced and by the prescription medications he uses.  In the Hive, Doug's persona becomes that of “Johnny,” a version of Nitnit, his performance art alter-ego.

In The Hive, Doug begins working in that nightmarish alternate world as a lowly employee who carts supplies around the Hive.  He also strikes up a friendship with a breeder named Suzy, and that new relationship is almost like another Doug previously had.  Meanwhile, back in reality, Doug slowly transforms from an ambitious young artist into a guy who merely drifts through life, bereft of his hopes and dreams.

As Sugar Skull begins, Doug-as-Johnny is back in the the Hive.  After a troubling encounter with a sow-life creature and her thing-lets, he reunites with a his Hive-chick, Suzy.  However, she is about to undergo a bodily function that disturbs and freaks-out Johnny.  Meanwhile, back in reality, Doug is now fully a lost and ambivalent man, but he lives with Sally, a woman who clearly loves him

Doug has regrets and questions.  What does the Hive represent?  What happened to him? Where is his former girlfriend, Sarah?  As he digs for answers, he seeks out Sarah, who has a surprise for him.  We also finally learn how Doug received the head injury that has put his reality into a crazy, mind-bending, dream/nightmare loop.

I have enjoyed Charles Burns' trilogy of graphic novels.  [I don't know whether to call this “The Hive trilogy” or the “X'ed Out trilogy” or even the “Nitnit trilogy.”]  I like the publishing format for these comic books:  hardcover, large-sized at 8.9 x 11.8 (which is similar to a French album or graphic novel), with a cloth-covered spine and beautifully illustrated end papers.

I found X'ed Out to be especially intriguing and captivating; I could not help but be taken in by the mystery and reality-warping, which seemed straight out of a David Lynch movie.  The Hive was vague and sometimes seemed like filler material, which can be a problem with the middle installment of a trilogy.  I was somewhat frustrated with it.

Four years after I read X'ed Out, Sugar Skull rewards my patience.  Suddenly, the answers pour forth, and they will break your heart.  For all the surrealism of much of story prior to the final volume, this ending is surprisingly human.  Burns depicts the melancholy nature of a promising life that has decided to settle for the mundane.

This trilogy operates on so many levels and layers, and Doug and perhaps a few other characters exist in different persona.  Time, symbolism, and metaphor exist in multiple layers.  Sugar Skull is more grounded than the other books.  It forces reality and consequence, even in the alternate reality.  A “sugar skull” or calavera is a representation of the human skull made out of clay or sugar and is used in the Mexican celebration, Day of the Dead (which takes place over three days beginning on October 31st).

Is Doug dead?  Is he an unreliable narrator?  I don't think that Doug is a deceased character, who is narrating the last of his life.  Rather, he is forced to confront the truth about himself, and that can be more painful than a blow to the head.  Sugar Skull justifies this entire enterprise undertaken by Charles Burns, and it proves that Burns' stories may be strange and intense, but they are not impersonal.  They are unique depictions of the human condition, and, as Sugar Skull shows, they are deeply personal.

A

www.facebook.com/pantheonbooks
www.pantheoncomics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: THE SIGNIFIERS #2

THE SIGNIFIERS #2
M.R. NENO PRODUCTIONS – @Nenofsky

CARTOONIST:  Michael Neno
52pp, B&W, $5.95 U.S. (Fall 2012)

Comic book creator and publisher, Michael Neno, sent me a copy of the most recent issue of his self-published comic book, The Signifiers.  It was a blast to read, and I wish more people were turned on to this unique and exciting comic book.

The Signifiers #2 continues the story of “Splash” (whose last name might be Henderson).  He is a young black man, with a Summer of Love vibe, who must either obey or fight a mysterious force called The Voyst.  Early in issue #2, Splash is having breakfast with The Signifiers, when one of them, Maria, gives him a box of breakfast cereal.  At her behest, Splash reaches in and removes a strange device, the Ypytlic.  What is it?  Can anyone tell him?  A visit to Tiffany and to his Aunt Sharon might yield answers.

Meanwhile, in Hippyland, Landlark the Heat-Seeking Dwarf joins a group of free spirits to tap into the Voyst, with trippy results.  Also, meet Fearful and Joyful, two members of the four freaks known as the Emotionists.

When I reviewed The Signifiers #1, I wrote that one of the first things that captured my imagination about comic books was that the pictures they held within their flimsy covers were strange and full of weird-looking things.  Comic books were fun to read and decipher, and the unique graphics and iconography kept me reading comic books even when I didn’t completely understand what they were trying to tell me.

Obviously, I still love comics, even when I am having trouble figuring out the contents.  I still don’t understand the world of The Signifiers, but I am less clueless after reading #2 than I was after reading #1.

Obviously, The Signifiers is graphically and spiritually similar to Jack Kirby’s Fourth World comic books for DC Comics.  There is also a passing resemblance to some early Marvel Comics titles, including those drawn by Kirby and Steve Ditko.  However, in spite of influences, The Signifiers is stubbornly different.  It is as if Neno has put a solid, brick wall between his influences and inspirations and the work he produces.  You might recognize the source, but you better recognize Neno’s distinctive creation.

The result is a really cool comic book and comic book package that offers more than most comic books.  The Signifiers gives the reader more than the standard 20 to 22-page cover feature; there is also a short story or two.  While I am enjoying The Signifiers, at the same time I am trying to unravel it, I can also enjoy Landlark, the rough-looking dwarf with a nose for cool adventure.  The Signifiers #2 introduces The Emotionists, and I promise that the three-page introduction is not enough.

The Signifiers #2 also includes an interview that Michael Neno conducted with fellow comics self-publisher, Tom Scioli, whom readers might know from the Kirby-esque series, Godland (written by Joe Casey).  What Scioli has to say will likely prove invaluable other for self-published comics creators.

Believe me when I say that The Signifiers #2 is a steal at $5.95.  Three excellent comics serials, plus an interview with some crucial and valuable information:  could I ask for more?  Yes, I want The Signifiers #3.

A

www.NenoWorld.com
https://twitter.com/Nenofsky

Copies of The Signifiers #2 can be ordered by sending a check or money order for $8.50 (postage-paid) to M.R. Neno Productions, P.O. Box 307675, Gahanna, Ohio 43230.  Paypal purchases can be made to the email address: mneno@columbus.rr.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Comics Review: THE AMATEURS

THE AMATEURS
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

CARTOONIST: Conor Stechschulte
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
ISBN: 978-1-60699-734-5; paperback (June 2014)
64pp, B&W. $14.99 U.S.

Conor Stechschulte is a Baltimore-based comic book artist and a painter.  Fantagraphics Books recently published his graphic novella debut.  Entitled The Amateurs, it is the story of two amnesiac butchers who find their shop without meat and their heads with any memory of how to do their jobs.

The Amateurs opens with an entry from the diary of Anne M. Nemeth, a student at Lyre School for Girls.  On the morning of September 3rd of an unknown year, Anne and fellow student, Bethany, discover a severed human head that still seems to be talking.

The story then introduces (via flashback?) a pair of butchers named Jim and Winston.  They arrive for work at their butcher shop (of which Winston may be the owner) one morning only to discover that there is no meat in the shop.  Still more shocking, the two men also realize that they have completely forgotten how to do their jobs.  With the arrival of Martha and Shelly, two customers, Jim and Winston become fearful for their livelihood, too afraid to admit their dilemma.  This leads to a series of increasingly disastrous events.  The questions remains, what has caused their strange amnesia?

Somewhere between David Lynch and The Three Stooges lies the weird horror-comedy that is The Amateurs.  This graphic novel is inscrutable, surreal, and brilliant.  I could have read another 64 pages of it; I wanted to read another 64 pages.  It is a fascinating read, and I found myself reading a few pages at time and going back to re-read those pages.

Stechschulte may not be a draftsman as a comic book artist, but he is able to create evocative graphics separate from the words in balloons and caption boxes.  Those words, however, are also powerful and gripping, making the characters and situations intriguing and fascinating, even if both largely remain a mystery.  Bring words and pictures together, and the result is a robust story of mystery and dark humor.

There is a sad-sack, human quality in Stechschulte’s character art and in his cartooning of the human figure.  Jim and Winston’s nakedness, down to their mundane and feeble genitalia, makes them seem fragile.  That fragility is what keeps Jim and Winston’s dilemmas and struggles tangible and genuine.  That is what makes me care (still) about the two men’s fate long after reading The Amateurs.

The Amateurs could be a criticism of human nature, particularly of the disconnect between people.  I think this fantastic graphic novella reveals that there is a connection, but also that there is a lack of understanding in how to use that connection.  This leads to awkwardness and lots of flailing – hurting in lieu of uniting.  That’s amateurish.

The Amateurs by Conor Stechschulte is an ambition debut.  It is a small, black and white graphic novella with a story that is as explosive and as visceral as any superhero comics spectacular.  Its black comedy is funnier than many straight humor comics.  Readers looking for an ambitious alternative to the status quo will find it in The Amateurs.

A

www.fantagraphics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Glyph Comics Award Winners - "Watson and Holmes #6" Wins Big

The Glyph Awards recognize “the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year.”  The winners were announced Friday, May 16, 2014 at the 13th annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia.

Watson and Holmes #6 was the big winner, with four awards, including the big one, “Story of the Year.”  I had never heard of the series; now, I need to read it.

The 2014 Glyph Comics Award winners (for the year 2013):

Story of the Year:
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris

Best Cover:
• Route 3 #2, by Robert Jeffrey

Best Writer:
• Brandon Easton, Watson and Holmes #6

Best Artist:
• N. Steven Harris, Watson and Holmes #6

Best Male Character:
• Jack Maguire, Nowhere Man; Jerome Walford

Best Female Character:
• Ajala, Ajala: A Series of Adventures; N. Steven Harris and Robert Garrett

Rising Star Award:
• Alverne Ball (writer); Jason Reeves and Luis Guerro (artists), One Nation #1

Best Comic Strip or Webcomic:
• The Adigun Ogunsanwo, by Charles C.J. Juzang

Best Reprint Publication:
• Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, by the Fellowship of Reconciliation

Fan Award for Best Work:
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris

----------------------------

Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #6

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES #6
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-679-9; paperback (September 2013)
100pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

Fall means a new volume of Love and Rockets: New Stories.  Under a Gilbert Hernandez cover – featuring new player, “Killer,” Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 arrives with new stories featuring new characters.

Love and Rockets: New Stories is the third incarnation of the comic book series, Love and Rockets, rebooted as an annual, graphic novel-length package, resembling both a comic book and a literary magazine.  L&R remains the creation of Los. Bros, the brothers Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (with brother Mario occasionally contributing).  According to the publisher, this publishing format is designed to appeal to the people who decide what will be placed on the shelves in bookstores.

Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 brings Love and Rockets into its fourth decade with a focus on new lead characters.  Dora “Killer” Rivera, Gilbert’s new star is somewhere outside of the United States in the south of the border town of Palomar.  Killer strikes a hammer-wielding pose on New Stories #6’s cover that recalls her grandmother, Luba, Gilbert’s signature character.

Killer (also known as “Sad Girl”) discovers that Maria, her great-grandmother (and Luba’s mother) starred in a 1950s crime movie.  That leads her to begin to delve into the details of her family’s twisted history.  She’ll also discover that not everyone is interested in history, ancient or otherwise, and she is about to get a ghostly visit.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, Jaime continues to explore his intriguing new character, Tonta Agajanian.  Things start off innocently enough in “Fuck Summer,” as Tonta tries to get some attention from Eric Lopez of the garage punk band, Ooot.

Trying to get Tonta’s attention is Coach Angel Rivera, the new P.E. teacher at Bradbury’s Girl School.  Coach seems to know a lot about Tonta, but Tonta does not think that she has ever heard of Rivera.  “Tarzana Adventures” with “Pack Mules” will reveal all; keyword is “luchadora.”  It’s not all fun and games.  There is a dark mystery and something sinister going on in Tonta’s immediate and extended family that includes her older and squabbling half-siblings.

Each Hernandez bro approaches the introduction of new characters and storylines differently.  Gilbert depicts Killer as forging her own way by delving into the past.  Jaime has Tonta forging her way, but ensnared by the past.  The high school student is seemingly not interested in her family’s past, nor does she seem particularly interested in her siblings.

Killer loves the intricate connections that extend from Palomar outside to the United States and other places beyond the border of the U.S.  Gilbert, however, relishes muddying the past for his star, and making connections tenuous.  Is memory reliable?  Is history a story or fact?  After awhile, I start to see Satchel Paige’s axiom about not looking back in Killer’s adventures.  Gilbert’s final entry in New Stories #6 enforces that theme, but I know that I wanted Killer to turn around and look.

For Jaime’s Tonta, familial connections are not so much intricate, as they form a net.  Or maybe, they are like those hooked-laden Cenobite chains that snake out from the darkness in Hellraiser movies.  Jaime’s focus on Tonta is divided into 17 short stories in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (compared with Gilbert’s 8).  They form one large story through which run three stories or subplots.  Each one of the three recalls classic Jaime themes:  music (punk), wrestling (Mexican), and family.

Unlike Gilbert’s stories, which seem to want to connect Killer to the past, Jaime seems determined to disconnect Tonta from the past, at least by my reading.  The story of Tonta will be about her, not about her in a context of what came before her.  This comes through in Tonta’s visits to the “swimming hole,” as when one character declares that she did not invite Tonta’s companion.

I find that in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, Gilbert’s holds up his end of the volume better than he did in New Stories #5.  Here, both brothers are like great athletes that use human growth hormone (HGH) to extend their peak performance into middle age.  Los Bros. have found creative and artistic steroids, as they are producing Love and Rockets comics that are as good as they’ve ever been.  Or maybe genius never gets old and keeps producing all-star work.

A

Review by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Richard Sala's "Violenzia" a Digital Exclusive Comic from comiXology

Fantagraphics Books Partners With ComiXology to Debut Violenzia

Fantagraphics Books’ First Digital Exclusive Comic

Fantagraphics Books, publisher of the world’s greatest cartoonists, partners with comiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform, to debut Fantagraphics’ first original, digital exclusive comic book: Violenzia. Written and illustrated by acclaimed creator Richard Sala (Delphine, Cat Burglar Black), Violenzia is an all-new, full-color, $5.99, 50-page one-shot exclusively available today across comiXology’s entire platform including iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows 8 and comiXology.com.

"Let there be no mercy or forgiveness for they have shown none." With these words, whispered into the wind, a mysterious young woman leaps into action with wild abandon, twin automatics blazing. Is she a brave and reckless heroine taking on a monstrous evil? Or is she a deranged angel of death? One thing is clear, whether she is dropping from a high window into a crowd of red-robed fanatical cultists, or facing down a horde of psychotic hillbillies, you don't want to get in Violenzia’s way.

"This is a new model for us," said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds. "Not a better model, but a different model. Richard Sala is one of our most beloved authors, and recently he has built up a considerable and new following online, via his Tumblr and other social media, so when he proposed Violenzia it seemed like the perfect opportunity to experiment with a digital-only release."

"We’re thrilled that Fantagraphics partnered with us to bring Richard Sala's beautiful and hilarious Violenzia to comiXology and our worldwide audience," said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. "Readers and fans will also be treated to experiencing this amazing work in comiXology’s cinematic Guided View reading technology."

A fast moving, self-contained story, Violenzia is a blast of pulpy fun, told in scenes of audacious action and splashes of rich watercolors. With elements of golden age comics and old movies mixed with Sala's trademark humor and sense of the absurd, Violenzia is serious fun, a bloody enigma masked as eye candy, a puzzle box riddled with bullet holes.

Violenzia is the latest story by Sala featuring heroines (or anti-heroines) who are quirky, mysterious and unpredictable — such as Peculia (PECULIA , PECULIA AND THE GROON GROVE VAMPIRES), Judy Drood (MAD NIGHT, THE GRAVE ROBBER'S DAUGHTER), and K Westree (CAT BURGLAR BLACK), and features the same distinctive mixture of mystery, violence and humor as his books THE CHUCKLING WHATSIT, THE HIDDEN and DELPHINE.

Look for Violenzia out today on comiXology: http://www.comixology.com/Violenzia/digital-comic/50915?app=1

About Fantagraphics
Fantagraphics Books has been a leading proponent of comics as a legitimate form of art and literature since it began publishing the critical trade magazine The Comics Journal in 1976. By the early 1980s, Fantagraphics was at the forefront of the burgeoning movement to establish comics as a medium as eloquent and expressive as the more established popular arts of film, literature, poetry, et al. Fantagraphics quickly established a reputation as an advocacy publisher that specialized in seeking out and publishing the kind of innovative work that traditional comics corporations who dealt almost exclusively in super-heroes and fantasy either didn’t know existed or wouldn’t touch: serious, dramatic, historical, journalistic, political, and satirical work by a new generation of alternative cartoonists (including now-legends like Peter Bagge, Daniel Clowes, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Joe Sacco and Jim Woodring) as well as many artists who gained prominence as part of the seminal underground comix movement of the '60s, such as R. Crumb and Kim Deitch. Fantagraphics has since gained an international reputation for its literate and audacious editorial standards in publishing the best cartooning from all eras and regions with exacting production values.

About comiXology
ComiXology has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel industry by delivering a cloud-based digital comics platform that makes discovering, buying, and reading comics more fun than ever before. ComiXology’s Guided View™ reading technology transforms the comic book medium into an immersive and cinematic experience, helping comiXology become one of iTunes' top 10 grossing iPad apps in both 2011 and 2012. Offering the broadest library of comic book content from the top 75 publishers, and including independent creators as well, comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the planet has become a comic book fan. A privately held company, comiXology is based in New York City. For more information visit www.comixology.com.

Review: MONSTER ON THE HILL

MONSTER ON THE HILL - (Original Graphic Novel)
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Rob Harrell
ISBN: 978-1-60309-075-9; paperback (July 2013)
192pp, Color, $19.95 U.S.

Audience: All ages (10+)

Cartoonist and illustrator Rob Harrell is known for his former newspaper comic strip, Big Top (which was syndicated from 2002 to 2007), and the currently syndicated strip, Adam@Home.  Harrell enters the world of comic books with the original graphic novel, Monster on the Hill, which was recently published by Top Shelf Productions.  Monster on the Hill is the story of a sad-sack monster learning to become a real, scary monster with the help of an eccentric doctor and a sardonic newspaper boy.

Monster on the Hill is set in a fantastical version of 1860s England.  In this world, each quiet little township is terrorized by a ferocious monster, and the citizens love it, because its monster is a great source of local pride and tourism.  Yes, every town has its own monster except Stoker-on-Avon.

Well, Stoker-on-Avon has a monster, but he’s not really a monster.  He doesn’t do anything monstrous or even terrifying, and no tourists come to see him.  His name is Rayburn, and instead of scaring up some tourists, he lets loose enormous sighs and groans that shake the buildings in town.  And frankly, Rayburn’s attitude is a downer, man.

Enter disgraced doctor and scientist, Dr. Charles Nathaniel Wilkie.  The town fathers want Dr. Wilkie to “fix the monster.”  Wilkie gets some unexpected help from plucky street urchin and newspaper boy, Timothy.  The duo meets Rayburn and thus, begins an epic journey of self-discovery and redemption, guest-starring the awesome Tentaculor (a.k.a. “Noodles”).  Time is short, however, as something worse than a monster threatens to destroy Stoker-on-Avon and its people.

Readers, creators, publishers, retailers, etc:  everyone involved with American comic books on some level talks about the need for comic books for children or comics that can be read by everyone (“all ages”).  Monster on the Hill is not just a children’s comic book; it is an entire awesome children’s graphic novel, and it is a monster.  The story borrows from several genres; it is everything from a faux Victorian children’s story and grand adventure to a road trip story and plain old monster comic book.  Harrell summons the hoary ghosts of Marvel/Timely’s old monster comic books, complete with full-splash pages in order to depict epic battles between humongous monster foes.  It’s like Jack Kirby meets Japanese monster movies.

The characters are hugely likeable, and no one character dominates, which allows all the players to shine – even the dastardly villain.  Little Timothy provides easy-going, sarcastic one-liners, and Dr. Wilkie is the steady narrator.  The monsters are witty and surprisingly original; you will wish that other comic books had characters like these.

Obviously, I am big on this graphic novel.  I plan on introducing my niece and nephew to Monster on the Hill.  It’s monstrously good.

A

Neil Gaiman and Jeff Smith (Bone) provide cover quote blurbs for Monster on the Hill.

Public info on Monster on the Hill: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/monster-on-the-hill/732

www.robharrell.com
http://www.topshelfcomix.com
http://twitter.com/topshelfcomix
http://facebook.com/topshelfcomix

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Fantagraphics' Co-Publisher Kim Thompson Dies at Age 56

Photograph of Kim Thompson with two Eisner Award trophies. Photo by Lynn Emmert

Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson died at 6:30 this morning, June 19. "He was my partner and close friend for 36 years," said Gary Groth.

Thompson was born in Denmark in 1956. He grew up in Europe, a lifelong comics fan, reading both European and American comics in Denmark, France, and Germany. He was an active fan in his teen years, writing to comics — his letters appeared in Marvel's letter columns circa early 1970s — and contributing to fanzines from his various European perches. At the age of 21, he set foot, for the first time, on American soil, in late 1977. One "fanzine" he had not contributed to was The Comics Journal, which Groth and Michael Catron began publishing in July of 1976. That was soon to change.

"Within a few weeks of his arrival," said Groth, "he came over to our 'office,' which was the spare bedroom of my apartment, and was introduced by a mutual friend — it was a fan visit. We were operating out of College Park, Maryland and Kim's parents had moved to Fairfax, Virginia, both Washington DC suburbs. Kim loved the energy around the Journal and the whole idea of a magazine devoted to writing about comics, and asked if he could help. We needed all the help we could get, of course, so we gladly accepted his offer. He started to come over every day and was soon camping out on the floor. The three of us were living and breathing The Comics Journal 24 hours a day."

Thompson became an owner when Catron took a job at DC Comics in 1978. As he became more familiar with the editorial process, Thompson became more and more integral to the magazine, assembling and writing news and conducting interviews with professionals. Thompson's career in comics began here.

In 1981, Fantagraphics began publishing comics (such as Jack Jackson's Los Tejanos, Don Rosa's Comics and Stories, and, in 1982, Love and Rockets). Thompson was always evangelical about bandes dessinées and wanted to bring the best of European comics to America; in 1981, Thompson selected and translated the first of many European graphic novels for American publication — Herman Huppen's The Survivors: Talons of Blood (followed by a 2nd volume in 1983). Thompson's involvement in The Comics Journal diminished in 1982 when he took over the editorship of Amazing Heroes, a bi-weekly magazine devoted to more mainstream comics (with occasional forays into alternative and even foreign comics). Thompson helmed Amazing Heroes through 204 issues until 1992.

Among Thompson's signature achievements in comics were Critters, a funny-animal anthology that ran from 50 issues between 1985 to 1990 and is perhaps best known for introducing the world to Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo; and Zero Zero, an alternative comics anthology that also ran for 50 issues over five years — between 1995 and 2000 — and featured work by, among others, Kim Deitch, Dave Cooper, Al Columbia, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, David Mazzuchelli, and Joyce Farmer. His most recent enthusiasm was spearheading a line of European graphic novel translations, including two major series of volumes by two of the most significant living European artists — Jacques Tardi (It Was the War of the Trenches, Like a Sniper Lining up His Shot, The Astonishing Exploits of Lucien Brindavoine) and Jason (Hey, Wait..., I Killed Adolf Hitler, Low Moon, The Left Bank Gang) — and such respected work as Ulli Lust's Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, Lorenzo Mattotti's The Crackle of the Frost, Gabriella Giandelli's Interiorae, and what may be his crowning achievement as an editor/translator, Guy Peelaert's The Adventures of Jodelle.

Throughout his career at Fantagraphics, Thompson was active in every aspect of the company, selecting books, working closely with authors, guiding books through the editorial and production process. "Kim leaves an enormous legacy behind him," said Groth, "not just all the European graphic novels that would never have been published here if not or his devotion, knowledge, and skills, but for all the American cartoonists he edited, ranging from Stan Sakai to Joe Sacco to Chris Ware, and his too infrequent critical writing about the medium. His love and devotion to comics was unmatched. I can't truly convey how crushing this is for all of us who've known and loved and worked with him over he years."

Thompson was diagnosed with lung cancer in late February. He is survived by his wife, Lynn Emmert, his mother and father, Aase and John, and his brother Mark.

I want to offer my prayers and condolences to Kim Thompson's family, friends, and colleagues.  Rest in peace, Kim. - Leroy Douresseaux

I Reads You Review: LOVE AND ROCKETS: New Stories #5

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES #5
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
COVER: Jaime Hernandez
ISBN: 978-1-60699-586-0; paperback (2012)
104pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

Love and Rockets: New Stories is the third incarnation of the comic book series, Love and Rockets, which I think is the best American comic book series ever published. It is the creation of Los. Bros, the brothers Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (with brother Mario occasionally contributing). Published by Fantagraphics Books, New Stories is a reboot of Love and Rockets as an annual, graphic novel-length package, resembling both a comic book and a literary magazine. This publishing format is designed to appeal to the people who decide what will make the shelves of bookstores.

Published in 2012, Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 opens with “Somewhere Outside the U.S. Border” by Gilbert. As 2012 is the 30th anniversary of Love and Rockets, Gilbert celebrates by transporting one of his current characters, Dora “Killer” Rivera, to the site of his beloved south-of-the-border village of Palomar.

In “Proof That the Devil Loves You,” Fritz (Luba’s half-sister) stars in a fictionalized “movie” Palomar, with Fritz starring as a combination of Luba and Tonantzín. The real characters, including Luba, Sheriff Chelo, and Carmen, among others, appear in two vignettes, “Somewhere in the U.S.” and “And Back Again.”

On Jaime’s side of things, he has to follow up the incredible “The Love Bunglers,” so he offers four stories for New Stories #5. Jaime focuses on a familiar character, Vivian “Frogmouth” Solis, the bombshell ex-girlfriend of Ray Dominguez. However, Jaime’s opening story is “Tonta,” which introduces Vivian’s half-sister, Tonta. In that story, Tonta is determined to meet Eric Lopez, the lead singer of Ooot, a punk band.

In “Crime Raiders International Mobsters and Executioners,” Vivian attracts the attention of an old gangster type named, Mel Spropp, who owns the Cobia Club. Spropp wants Vivian to sit by the phone at her home and wait for him to call, but Vivian isn’t exactly the type to cooperate. “Uh… Oh, Yeah” is a look at Doyle. In “Shoes,” Tonta goes exploring with Gretchen A.K.A. “Medusa.”

After the stunning events depicted in Love and Rockets: New Stories #4 (2011), the Hernandez Brothers could be described as shifting focus or even moving sideways for New Stories #5. I cannot figure out what Gilbert is doing with this return – both real and surreal – to Palomar. I think most of Gilbert’s best work, which is a mixture of magical realist fiction and soap operas, is set in Palomar. These new stories make me hope that he is returning to Palomar in some manner or at least to some extent.

Meanwhile, Jaime seems ready to unleash a whole new group of characters in his Locas cycle. Right from the beginning, I find Tonta, Frank Lopez, and Gretchen/Medusa fascinating. Also, after not taking Vivian seriously, I am intrigued by her, and clearly Jaime is also looking at the character from a new perspective.

Honestly, it was going to be hard to follow New Stories #4, and Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 lacks the kind of exceptional, game-changing material the previous edition has. However, this is another volume of New Stories which proves that Love and Rockets is as strong as ever and is ready for 30 more great years.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Graphic Novel Review: ON THE ROPES

ON THE ROPES
W.W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. – @norton_fiction

WRITER: James Vance – @authorjvance
ARTIST: Dan E. Burr
LETTERS/HALFTONES: Debbie Freiberg
COVER: Dan E. Burr
ISBN: 978-0393-06220-5; hardcover (March 2013)
258pp, B&W, $24.95 U.S., $26.50 CAN

James Vance is a comic book writer who has written for comic books such as The Crow and The Spirit. Dan E. Burr is an illustrator who has drawn comics for DC Comics’ Big Book Series. Together, Vance and Burr are pioneers of the American graphic novel because a particular work that was first published in 1988.

On the Ropes: A Novel is a 2013 hardcover, original graphic novel from James Vance and Dan E. Burr. It is the follow-up to their Kings in Disguise, a graphic novel that was originally serialized as a six-issue comic book miniseries and published in 1988 by Kitchen Sink Press. Kings in Disguise was a highly acclaimed comic book. At the time of its first publication, it drew praise from such comic book luminaries as Alan Moore, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman and Art Spiegelman. It won a Harvey Award and two Eisner Awards.

Set during the Great Depression, Kings in Disguise was the story of 13-year-old Manfred “Freddie” Bloch, a Jewish boy from the fictional town of Marian, California. Freddie and his older brother, Al, are abandoned by their father, a widower who can no longer support his family. In 1932, Freddie takes to the rails – traveling the country by train as a hobo – where he meets Sammy. Calling himself “the King of Spain,” Sammy is a sickly, older hobo who takes Freddie under his wing. Together, they travel through a scarred America, searching for Freddie's father.

On the Ropes opens in 1937, some five years after Freddie Bloch left home. Now 17, Freddie works in a traveling WPA circus. He is apprenticed to the circus’ star attraction, the escape artist, Gordon Corey. The act, called “Gordon Corey Escapes,” is a hangman’s illusion that plays it dangerously close to the edge.

After surviving the Detroit labor riots and violent anti-Communist mobs, Freddie has found home and has even befriended Eileen Finnerty, a gracious young woman who works at the circus. Could she become Freddie’s girlfriend? Before he started working for the circus, Freddie discovered that he has a talent for writing. Thus, he finds a kindred spirit, of sorts, in Barbara Woodruff, a WPA guide book writer who is interested in Gordon’s life story. In her own acerbic way, Woodruff nurtures Freddie’s talent.

Freddie also has a double life. He has joined the Workers Brigade, and he moonlights as a delivery boy for the different groups of workers trying to secretly coordinate their countrywide strikes. As “Jim Nolan,” Freddie receives and sends out secret letters as he travels with the circus. Freddie does not know that Virgil and Chase, two murderous union busters, are trying to find out who the “mailman” is.

Gordon sees that Freddie is playing a dangerous game, and although he is jaded and tired, Gordon wants to see his young assistant make something of himself. Both Freddie and Gordon, however, are haunted by the tragic past, which causes friction between the two. Each man can save the other or bring about their mutual destruction.

I will certainly be among the many reviewers and critics voicing great praise for On the Ropes. In the last decade or so, I have read few comic books that I felt in my heart as I read them. On the Ropes is one of those books. By the end of the year, On the Ropes will likely still be the best comic book or graphic novel of 2013; it will take a miracle for there to be a comic book that knocks On the Ropes off its perch.

James Vance’s story is unflinchingly human, telling a story that captures humankind both in stark contrasts and in perplexing shades of gray. The characters are basically stock characters, but Vance imbues them with humanity. Combine that with the intricacies of the narrative and with the various plot twists and these characters are largely unknowable, but have intriguing quantities that make them worth the effort to know. Vance delves so deeply into plot, setting, and character that his comic book script is more like a novel than a comic book script.

Dan E. Burr’s art is so earnest and heartfelt that it wrings the humanity out of Vance’s story. His compositions are painterly and reminded me of American art movements like American regionalism, social realism, and the Ashcan School. Thus, Burr’s graphical storytelling has more than twice the narrative heft than many of the best graphic novels of the last 30 years.

On the Ropes has a straightforward plot, and past and present are seamless in the way they move the story towards its conclusion. There is such complexity in this graphic novel that the entire time I read it, I thought of On the Ropes as a novel and not as a comic book (not saying comic books are junk).

Of course, the title, On the Ropes, is both literal and figurative. Vance and Burr take on the social and political turmoil of the Great Depression in ways that are intensely poignant and heartrending, but also ardently involved. Vance and Burr aren’t sitting on the sidelines, being dispassionate in recounting the past.

They have turned American history into great drama. This is a hypnotic account of who we were and where we came from that shows us who we are now and why we are where we are. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, time is neutral. Then, On the Ropes is not only a timeless masterpiece, but it is also quite timely, especially if you’ve been paying attention to where we are now.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux